Chapter 16 – Jumper

A/N: Hi! So, in the last chapter we were introduced to Carolyn Shepherd. What I didn't really clarify was that the meeting didn't happen directly after the Alex-drama. In actuality it was a few days between the two events. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone gets confused. I edited the last chapter a bit as well, so hopefully it will all work smoothly from here.
Thank you for all of the comments and please keep them coming! Be sure to know that I read all of them :) Now… On with the story.

Well everyone I know has got a reason
to say

You can put the past away

I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend.
You could cut ties with all the lies,
that you've been living in,
And if you do not want to see me again,
I would understand

(Jumper – Third eye blind)

It was now only three hours left before Meredith needed to take Carolyn Shepherd down into the OR. As she waited for the time to pass she thought back and smiled at a memory from a couple of nights ago.

She was lying on the living room couch back in the house with her head in Christina's lap, watching George being totally slain by Alex in Goldeneye on the 64. It had been two days since the… incident. The tension she had imagined would exist between herself and the latter was in actuality not even a minor issue. Alex just wasn't the type of guy to care about that sort of thing for longer than necessary. Everything was exactly the way they used to be.

"You know what I've just realized?" she asked Christina absentmindedly.

"Pizza rules," her friend answered, accidentally dropping some crumbs into Meredith's hair while taking a huge bite of the slice in her hand. The woman in her lap completely ignored this.

"I've made a complete and utter fool of myself in every city I've ever lived in," she said. Before she could continue her line of thought though, she was interrupted.

"Owen proposed," Christina stated out of the blue.

Meredith rolled off the couch in surprise.

"He what?!" she exclaimed, raising herself to her knees swiftly. Christina froze in the middle of her next bite. They heard the game pause and George turning around quickly.

"What's going on?" he asked. Alex raised his eyebrows and managed to look slightly interested.

"It's not a big deal," Christina said and continued to eat.

Meredith stood up and grabbed her friend by the shoulders.

"Christina Yang! How long since this happened?" she barked. George looked startled, but the others didn't seem too surprised by the small woman's outburst.

"What happened?" he asked again. Everyone ignored him.

"Huh?" Christina said. "Like… five days or something."

"You have GOT to be kidding me, Christina," Meredith continued rapidly.

"What's going on?" George whispered to Alex who didn't even acknowledge him with a glance.

"So what? Like you haven't kept things from me for longer?" Christina said, slightly louder now.

"For your information, I haven't. And definitely not this kind of… of… information-bomb!"

"Well! I was gonna ask you to be the maid of honor, but now…" Christina said and sighed.

"Wait, you said yes?!" Meredith asked abruptly.

"Maid of honor?" Came George's confused voice.

"Uh-huh," said Christina.

There was a long silence. Then Meredith calmly took a seat beside her friend and leaned her shoulder against hers.

"This is great," she said and smiled.

Alex sat down on the other side of Meredith and put his feet up on the living room table. "Congrats," he stated and smiled crookedly.

George seemed to be putting two and two together, albeit slowly, and finally realized what the conversation was about. When he did he squealed with joy.

"Congratulations, Chris!" he grinned and pulled his Asian friend into a fierce hug. Christina herself seemed to find this incredibly uncomfortable and was awkwardly trying to untangle herself from his hold.

"Let's play Bomber man," Alex stated when it seemed things were going to get too joyful. Everyone agreed heartily.

"Doctor Shepherd!" came a voice from down the hall. Derek, who was dressed in casual slacks and a knitted jumper swung around and saw George O'Malley rushing towards him.

"What is it? And make this fast. My mother will soon be taken into surgery."

"I know… Meredith sent me. She said she just got some tests in and that it might take half an hour longer or so before she can start," the smaller man answered quickly. Derek nodded slowly.

"Right…" he said.

Why couldn't she tell me herself?

He pushed the thought away. She obviously had a lot of things going on right now. Derek was about to let it all slide, but when George turned to walk away, he found the sudden need to continue.

"O'Malley," he said loudly, effectively stopping the doctor from fleeing. George turned around and looked at Derek expectantly.

"Do… would you mind stepping in here with me for just a minute? I'll try to be quick." He pointed at a door close by. When George saw that it was an on-call room his eyes widened considerably.

"Um… I'm not sure…" he stuttered. Derek rolled his eyes and started to walk towards it.

"I don't want to have sex with you, O'Malley. I want to talk," he stated, trying not to snort. He opened the door (hearing George splutter behind him), waited for the man to scurry inside and then closed the it behind them.

"Hello again Mrs. Shepherd," Meredith said as she stepped into the room. She had checked closely through the door to make sure there was no Derek in sight before going in.

"Carolyn, sweetie," the woman on the bed sighed. She looked just as calm and collected as she had done that morning.

"Right. Doctor Wilson will come get you in just a minute. I just wanted to check if you have any further last-minute questions."

"Oh, I have quite a few actually," Carolyn said. Meredith nodded and looked at the woman expectantly. "None of them are about the surgery though, so I reckon they can wait," she proceeded. Meredith tried not to smile. She really liked this lady, however huge a mess she herself had going on with the son.

There was a cough by the door.

As Meredith swiveled around she was met by a smiling Derek. He was holding a balloon in his hand and a small teddy bear with a shirt that said; "Get well soon!" on the front. He looked absolutely adorable.

When the silence fell in the room Meredith realized she was staring. Coming to her senses she turned around towards the bed one last time only to see Carolyn quickly hiding her interested glances behind a neutral smile.

"Well... I'm sure you have things to talk about. Call me if you need me!" With that Meredith was out the door.

Derek looked confused for a second at her sudden departure but soon seemed to collect himself again. He walked towards his mother and took a seat in the chair next to the bed. They spoke softly and laughed at his gifts before Derek enquired after his sisters.

"Amelia was going to come, but she got stuck in a surgery. Nancy, Kate and Lizzie had to stay at home with the kids though. But it's OK. I spoke to them before I left," his mother answered lightly.

"I'm sure you're not very sorry," Derek smiled.

"Well… Yes. But no..." she laughed. "They were very worried about me, you see. I might have… understated the seriousness of the situation a bit." Derek shook his head and looked at her with a reprimanding glance. His mother ignored it.

"Anyway. I'm sure everything will be fine. Meredith is brilliant, as you so very eloquently have told me these last… say, three times we have spoken on the phone in the months you've been away." It was Carolyn's time to look reprimanding. Derek rolled his eyes.

"Oh, like you don't know everything that's going on in my life anyway," he joked. Carolyn looked at him seriously. There was a brief silence.

"Tell me how you've been," she said.

Derek somehow knew his mother didn't want to hear about how he was getting along with his new co-workers. As usual, Carolyn was way too perceptive for her own good.

He hesitated for just a moment before deciding it was best to just rip off the Band-Aid. Derek knew his mother would find out sooner or later anyway. She always got her way in the end.

After he had told her about the details in the drama that was the Derek-Meredith Show (although he gently forgot to mention the intimate moments) he spoke of how bad he felt and all of his regrets.

"I slipped, mom," he sighed sadly. "I didn't see the pavement before it hit me in the face."

Carolyn, who had been listening intently, was not usually a woman who feared to call her children out on their wrongs. At any other time she could easily have struck her son over the head and called him a "stupid boy" before yelling at him to "Go! Make it right!" and kick him out the door. Now though, she saw the self-berating in her son's eyes. Admonishment would not help him now, as it had done so many times in the past. No, what Derek needed right now was some hope.

It was therefore that Carolyn Shepherd, the iron woman, placed her palm on her son's cheek and gave him a smile.

"This is not over, Derek," she said. "If there's one thing I have learned in life, it is that everything bad will lead to something good in the end." She stroke her Derek's face lovingly and he smiled softly back at her.

"Do not force yourself to live a life you don't want to live," she proceeded. "No matter what you do, remember that while things might look right and wrong, black and white… That's not usually the case. You have to really look around and listen to what your own heart tells you. Then you'll know what to do."

Derek looked at his mother with contemplating eyes. Then he smiled.

"I know what to do," he said. Carolyn rolled her eyes.

"Of course you do. I didn't raise an idiot."